What is the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights? The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Covenant) is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations (UN). It was adopted on 10 December 1966 and came into force on 3 January 1976. The Covenant protects a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights (socio-economic rights). Together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was adopted at the same time, the Covenant forms the cornerstone of international human rights law and has been ratified by 169 countries around the world. All Read More

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered the initial report of South Africa on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/ZAF/1) at its 42nd, 43rd and 44th meetings (E/C.12/2018/SR.42, 43 and 44) held on 2nd and 3rd October 2018. It adopted the following concluding observations at its 58th meeting, held on 12 October 2018. The Committee welcomes the timely initial report submitted by the State party and the supplementary information provided in the replies to the list of issues (E/C.12/ZAF/Q/1/Add.1). The Committee also appreciates the constructive dialogue held with the State party’s Read More

This submission outlines the key concerns and recommendations of the organizations listed above on the occasion of South Africa’s review before the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its 64th session in October 2018. It makes particular reference to issues insufficiently addressed or omitted from the State party’s first Periodic Report of April 2017 and seeks to respond to the questions put forth in the List of Issues adopted by the Committee’s Pre-sessional Working Group in November 2017. Specifically, it explores in detail the State party’s obligation under Article 2(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Read More

About two decades after signing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), South Africa finally ratified the instrument in January 2015. In accordance with the provisions of the ICESCR, the South African government submitted its initial report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in April 2017, where it articulated the steps and measures taken to comply with the provisions of the Covenant. To complement the effort of the South African government, a coalition known as South Africa’s Ratification Campaign of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Read More